Megatokyo Otaku City Chronicles
by Opt281
Summary: Songfics set on the peripheral of the Megatokyo universe.
1. Otaku City Blues

Disclaimer: Megatokyo and associated characters are copyright Fred Gallagher. www.megatokyo.com  
I claim nothing.

**Song: The Real Folk Blues (Yoko Kanno)**  
Lyrics and Translations courtesy of animelyrics.com

* * *

  
  
_Aishiteta to nageku ni wa  
Amari ni mo toki wa sugite shimatta  
Mada kokoro no hokorobi o  
Iyasenumama kaze ga fuiteru   
  
"It's too late to cry I love you.  
The wind still blowing, my heart still aching"_

* * *

  
  
Colocation: A place to rot for a server in Otaku City. Nothing there but a 24/7 'net connection and a bottomless supply of nikuman. Not a dump in the strictest sense – controlled climate, good food, steady maintenance. But it's a hard thing to be a thousand miles from those who care about you, only hearing from your folks when they need to upload something – a few times a week at most.  
  
You could see it all in the expression on the girl-bot's face. Cutecute server-rin though she might be, anyone with a heart could see she wasn't happy there.

* * *

  
  
_Hitotsu no me de asu o mite  
Hitotsu no me de kinou mitsumeteru  
Kimi no ai no yurikagode  
Mo ichido yasurakani nemuretara   
  
"One side of my eyes see tomorrow,  
And the other one see yesterday  
I hope I could sleep in the cradle of your love, again"_

* * *

  
  
Update night: It's hard on the heart to watch a 12 year-old girl curled up in the fetal position, watch her shudder in pain as thousands of fanboys hit refresh every five seconds. Goodness knows, they must ache for the morrow even as their fellows dredge up the long lost forum threads buried deep within her memory. Having to look in so many directions was surely as painful as anything else.  
  
"Awuuu~~~ Ukyo-san... I want to go home..."

* * *

  
  
_Kawaita hitomi de dareka naitekure   
  
"Cry for me, somebody, with dry eyes"_

* * *

  
  
Sad, isn't it? You'll never see her cry. She's not human, you see. No tear ducts.  
  
Try telling that to the sad puppy-dog eyes that gaze up at you when she asks to go see her father.

* * *

  
  
_The real folk blues  
Honto no kanashimi ga shiritaidake  
Doro no kawa ni sukatta jinsei mo warukuwanai  
Ichido kiri de owarunara   
  
"The real folk blues  
I just want to feel a real sorrow  
It's not bad a life in the muddy river  
If life is once"_

* * *

  
  
You catch her on the forums from time to time, it's almost like being free for her. She reads everything... Discussion, advice, haiku, speculation, art, poetry, RP, songfic, drabble, filk... Everything. She pops in to give technical advice, egg those fanboys on. Given half a chance, they'd gladly adopt her.  
  
But that's not the same as having a life. I think she knows that. It's more like looking at a picture of a window and saying "This is what I could see... If I could just reach it." And some days I'd give anything to be able to let her go.

* * *

  
  
_Kibou ni michita zetsuboto  
Wanagashikakerareteru kono chansu  
Nani ga yoku te warui no ka  
Koin no omoi to kuramitaita   
  
"Hopeless hope, and the chance with traps  
What is right, or wrong  
It's like a both side of a coin"_

* * *

  
  
The problem being, we need her like this. Nobody else can do what she does. There's a lot of fanboys out there who'd be sad or upset if she left. And that's not even counting the "FanboyNumberOnes." Some of the ones that scare us most live right here in Otaku City. Besides, it's not always bad for her.  
  
"Look what they wrote in the haiku thread, Ukyo-san! Isn't it funny?"

* * *

  
  
_Dore dake ikireba iyasareru no darou   
  
"How long I must live till I release?"_

* * *

  
  
She's supposed to be getting help soon. Piro's new server is taking on the main page, and Makoto will only have to handle the forums. Seems like she never stops wondering about it.  
  
"Ne, when will Nayuki-chan get here? Her picture looks cute – does she like nikuman?"

* * *

  
  
_The real folk blues  
Honto no yorokobi ga shiritai dake  
Hikaru mono no subete ga ougen to wa kagiranai   
  
"The real folk blues  
I just want to feel a real pleasure  
All that glitters is not gold"_

* * *

  
  
Quiet weekend: It's the worst when it's slow. Being locked away from all the world is draining for the poor girl, and when it gets quiet it makes her feel unwanted. For all their community, it can get painfully obvious that the forums aren't quite real.  
  
"Minna-san? Where did everybody go? Come back... please... Minna-san..."

* * *

  
  
_The real folk blues  
Honto no kanashimi ga shiritaidake  
Doro no kawa ni sukatta jinsei mo warukuwanai  
Ichido kiri de owarunara   
  
"The real folk blues  
I just want to feel a real sorrow  
It's not bad a life in the muddy river  
If life is once"_

* * *

  
  
She wants out, I know, and she's not very good at hiding it. She wants to be with Piro, to live with the man she calls father and live out her life as normal children do. I can see it written all over her face that she'd go home in a second if she could.  
  
It's probably the forums that do it for her, keep her hanging on. Some of the folks in No Save Points, or OLSAL – they're as bad off as she is. She wants people to be happy, you know, and some of those folks – they need her to be there. She told me once, when the going gets really hard, and she just wants to shut down, those people...  
  
They help her to be brave.  



	2. Otaku City Dreamer

Disclaimer: Megatokyo and associated characters are copyright Fred Gallagher. www.megatokyo.com  
I claim nothing.

**Kimi Sae Ireba (Love Hina End Theme)**   
Lyrics and translation borrowed from Animelyrics.com

* * *

  
_I'M A DREAMER   
yoake no hikari sosogu ka no chi wa doko?   
  
"I'm a dreamer.   
Where does the light of dawn pour down?"_

* * *

  
The night was hard and lonely in Otaku City. As the rain poured down outside, and the time came and went when distant fanboys cried "RELOAD!" and hit the forums like stampeding cattle. As Makoto-rin lay curled up on the floor, she clutched her head tightly, whimpering, in too much pain to even cry out.   
  
It helped a little to read the forums, to touch the hopes and dreams of the people that even now caused her distress. What she did, she did for them. And for her father.   
  
But tonight, unlike most nights, she was truly alone.   
  
"Ukyo-san... help..."

* * *

  
_I'M A DREAMER   
Honojiroi sono hohoemi, douka sawarasete   
  
"I'm a dreamer.   
Dimly white, that smile touched me somehow."_

* * *

  
In the midst of her pain, the server-rin felt another connection. It was Dom, uploading the strip. As she read the file, she could see the 4-koma take shape alongside Kimiko's mysteriously smile.   
  
Kimiko looked different tonight, like a big sister who knew something she didn't.   
  
Huddling in the dark, Makoto wondered what it was.

* * *

  
_koko wa hi no ataranai basho   
hitorikiri de naku toki no himitsu no basho   
sakebu youni namae yobunda   
kimi ga inakerya, kimi sae ireba   
  
"That sunshine doesn't touch this place,   
this secret place where you can cry all alone.   
As if I were screaming, I call out your name,   
If you weren't here; if you were here."_

* * *

  
The upload stopped, and far-away Dom disconnected. Piro would stay and chat sometimes, but Dom wouldn't. Who could say why? But the worst was far from over.   
  
It was more than a race to see the strip first. In chat rooms far and near, fans would tell their friends of the strip's arrival, and they would come - some to see the strips, others to post in the forums.   
  
No, the night was far from over. From the darkened heart of Otaku City, Makoto cried out once again.   
  
"Piro-papa... Ukyo-san..."

* * *

  
_kitto iku yo, hi no ataru basho   
kono mama ja owarenai, yakusoku ga aru   
tooi michi, hitosuji no michi   
kimi ga inakerya, kimi sae ireba   
  
"Surely, I'll go to that place where the sunshine touches.   
It can't end like this; we still have promises.   
That far off path, that straight path,   
If you weren't here; if you were here."_

* * *

  
Some hours later, after the reloaders, after the chat room rush, Makoto browsed the forums where the fans were talking about Otakon. They had brought back with them stories and pictures, such things as Makoto had never seen or done. The pain from the night's work still echoed in her head, and she wished once again that she could meet them, meet anyone, see anything beyond the climate controled shelter of her colocation in Otaku City.   
  
But the fans needed her.   
  
With Ukyo gone, with Piro offline, it was such a lonely job.   
  
As she browsed, a sound clicked in the background. The door leading to the outside - that portal of hope through which she might one day pass - was opening.   
  
A familiar voice. Friendly, welcome, and seldom heard. "Makoto-rin? Are you awake?"   
  
"Piro-papa!"

* * *

  
_kitto iku yo, hi no ataru basho   
kono mama ja owarenai, yakusoku ga aru   
tooi michi, hitosuji no hikari   
kimi ga iru kara, kimi sae ireba   
  
"Surely, I'll go to that place where the sunshine touches.   
It can't end like this; we still have promises.   
That far off road, that beam of light...   
Because you are here; If only you were here."_

* * *

  
Nobody could have doubted the joy in the little girl's face as she ran to meet him, embraced him, and tore into the nikuman he had brought. There was so much to say, and never enough time. Makoto was still full of questions when Ukyo appeared through the door, straining under the weight of a blue haired girl.   
  
"Ne, Papa... Is she..."   
  
Piro nodded. "Yes. She is."   
  
It was only a few minutes later that all of the connections were established, but it felt like days. Eventually, Nayuki yawned long and loud, then opened her eyes.   
  
"Hi! I'm Nayuki!"   
  
Perhaps this was what Kimiko smiled for.   
  
"I'm Makoto. Wanna be friends?" 


End file.
